Director-at-Large
Raymond Pisani, BS, RRT-NPS, RRT-ACCS, FAARC
Director Cardiopulmonary Services
Neurodiagnostics and Sleep Disorder Center
Teche Regional Medical Center
Morgan City, LA
Member Since: 1983
AARC Activities:
- Fellow of the AARC (FAARC), 2014
- AARC By-Laws, Chair, 2016
- AARC By-Laws, Co-Chair, 2015
- AARC By-Laws, Committee Member, 2015–2017
- AARC State Government Affairs, Co-Chair, 2013–2017
- AARC Membership Committee, Member, 2012–2017
- Political Advocacy Contact Team (PACT), 2015–2017
- Adult Critical Care Section, Member, 2000–2017
- Management Section, Member, 2010–2017
- AARC House of Delegates, 2010–2015
- Management, 2010, 2012–2017
- AARC, Planning Committee, 58th International Respiratory Convention and Exhibition, New Orleans, 2012
HOD Activities:
- House of Delegates (HOD), 2010–2015
- HOD Elections Committee, 2013–2015
- HOD Elections Committee, Co-Chair, 2015
Affiliate Activities:
- Tristate Respiratory Care Conference, Appointed to Board of Directors, 2007–present
- Co-Program Chair of Conference, 2008
- Program Chair of Conference, 2009, 2010
- Chairman Tristate Conference, 2011, 2016
- Treasurer, 2012–2017
- Registration Chairman, 2012–2017
- Exhibits Chairman, 2014–2016
- Louisiana Society for Respiratory Care
- Executive Committee, 1997, 2000-2003, 2006–2017
- Past President, 2012, 2016
- Immediate Past President, 2017
- President, 2010–2015
- President-Elect, 2009
- Treasurer, 1997, 2000–2003, 2006–2008
- Past Treasurer, 2009
- Parliamentarian, 1998, 2000
- Chairperson, Chapter Affairs, 1995–1999
- Pelican Bowl Committee, 1993
- Budget and Audit, 2001-2003, 2005–2017
- Legislative Committee, 2000, 2003–2004, 2007, 2009, 2012–2017
- Education Committee, 2001–2005, 2009–2017
- Public Relations, Co-Chair, 2000
- Judicial/Advisory, 1997–2017
- Nominations Chair, 2009, 2013, 2014
- Elections Chair, 2009, 2013, 2014
- By-Laws, 2009–2017
- By-Laws, Chair, 2012
- Gubernatorial appointment to Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners, Advisory Committee on Respiratory Care, 1997
- Advisory Committee on Respiratory Care under Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners, Chairman, 2007–present
Related Organizations:
- American Heart Association, BLS Instructor/Training Center Faculty, 1986–present; PALS Instructor, 2013–2015
- American Academy of Pediatrics, Neonatal Resuscitation Program, Instructor/Regional Instructor, 1989–present
- Health Trust Purchasing Group (HPG), LifePoint Representative, Respiratory Advisory Committee Member, 2009–2015
- Louisiana Asthma Surveillance Collaborative Board, Under Department of Health and Hospitals, Board Member, 2012–2014
Education:
- Associate Applied Sciences, 1986
- Bachelor of Science Degree, Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, Louisiana, 2003
- CRT, 1986
- RRT, 1993
- NPS, 1995
- ACCS, 2015
Elections Committee Questions:
What AARC or Chartered Affiliate offices/positions have you held where you feel you made a significant contribution to our profession? What is the contribution and how will you apply it to your new position, if elected?
During my term as president of the Louisiana Society for Respiratory Care (LSRC), I was engaged in numerous activities on the local, state, and national level. One of my true passions is legislative activities on all levels. I worked very closely with Cheryl West, Tom Kallstrom, and George Gaebler on HB 2619. It was very inspiring to get the grass roots efforts moving in Louisiana through town hall meetings with our U.S. congressional representatives, detailing our support and vision on HR 2619. It was truly an honor for me to be awarded the Volunteer Excellence Award for Outstanding Legislative Efforts in Louisiana by President Gaebler at the 59th International Respiratory Convention and Exhibition. I’m now focused on other legislative challenges as one of the PACT Members from Louisiana. I worked very closely with the LSRC and AARC on the Medicare Telehealth Parity Act and other telehealth legislation during the 2017 congressional session in Washington, DC during the PACT Hill visit and will continue to do so.
What experience would you bring to the AARC to accomplish the goals set out by President Walsh?
I will continue to abide by AARC’s vision to maintain their mission and representation of the practice of respiratory care. As a board member, I will remain active in supporting the goals and principles the AARC has established over the years. On a more specific level, I will be an advocate to promote AARC memberships and encourage fellow therapists to participate and engage in decisions made about our careers and its future. It is imperative to uphold the standards we have established and to continue to grow in a positive direction. I believe that being united is essential in achieving the ultimate journey for respiratory care.
What ideas do you have to attract non-members to join the AARC?
As a member of the AARC membership committee, this challenge is faced daily. The lack of knowledge of what membership has to offer and the roadblocks setup by professional leaders are barriers that exist and need to be overcome.
I think one way to overcome the roadblocks would be to allow all respiratory students the pleasure of having free membership in the AARC and remove the stipulation that program directors must be AARC members. Once a student has experienced being a member, the organization has a much greater chance of maintaining them as members in the long term. Every student should have this opportunity and not be excluded simply because their program directors may not be supporting their professional organization.
In my opinion, students are our greatest asset and tool. They are the future of the AARC. As an organization, we need to engage and motivate them early in their career to become ambassadors for membership and help them develop a grassroots network on the local, state, and national level.
I believe the AARC House of Delegates Student Mentoring Program has helped to motivate students to promote membership. All the students have expressed their gratitude for being able to attend the HOD Meetings. They see firsthand the hard work of respiratory therapists working together as a team to move the profession forward and how the AARC is actively working for the good of respiratory therapists nationally and internationally.
Role-Specific Questions:
What do you see is your role in being a member of the AARC Board of Directors and what specific issues that face the profession now would you see as something you’d like the AARC BOD to work on?
Promoting the value of the profession of respiratory care. As professionals we must push forward to demonstrate our value as therapists by delivering the highest quality of care. This will enable therapists to be recognized as valuable health care providers in the workplace to our patients and fellow health care providers.
Broadening therapist access to other avenues of professional practice such as home care, urgent care centers, outpatient centers, and telemedicine is vital to the future of the profession. Moving forward with legislation to allow for the RT reimbursement is extremely important to the future of the profession. As a PACT member, I have participated in this initiative first hand and plan to continue to do so.
Promoting membership of our Association is another important avenue vital to the growth of the profession by seeking new ways to gain the interest of and recruiting new members. Also equally important is maintaining the retention of present members. President Brian Walsh has restructured the membership committee to better reflect our current membership demographics in the hopes that they will make better recommendations for improvement and growth. I support President Walsh in this effort.
Minimum Requirements:
Active member of the Louisiana Society for Respiratory Care and the American Association for Respiratory Care
Served as president, president-elect, past president, and treasurer on the affiliate level, and served in the House of Delegates on the national level.
Preferred Characteristics:
- Served on AARC membership, bylaws, and state/government affairs committee
- Co-Chair, AARC State Government Affairs
- Co-Chair, AARC Bylaws
- Chair, AARC Bylaws
